Morning Commentary: Preferreds feel firm as month nears its end; AGNC admitted to Nasdaq

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Aug. 28 – The preferred stock market was edging upward going into the final trading week of August.

However, volume remained constrained, as many desks were empty.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was up 6 basis points at mid-morning. The U.S. iShares Preferred Stock ETF was up 1 bp.

Of the month’s new issues, AGNC Investment Corp.’s $300 million of 7% series C fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock was admitted to the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Monday.

The ticker symbol is “AGNCN.”

The paper was at $25.14 in early dealings, up from $25.01 at the open.

The deal came Aug. 15, pricing at the tight end of the 7% to 7.125% price talk. The deal was also increased from an expected $150 million.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS Securities LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, RBC Capital Markets LLC and Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. ran the books.

With the listing of the AGNC preferreds, only Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc.’s $85 million of 7.5% series H cumulative preferred stock was left trading over-the-counter.

The issue’s temporary ticker is “AHHSP.”

At mid-morning, those preferreds were pegged at $24.68, up 3 cents.

Ashford priced on Aug. 16, coming upsized from $50 million. Initial price talk was 7.5% to 7.625%.

UBS Securities and Morgan Stanley were the joint bookrunners.

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